Preventable: Gloria Barton with Cael, who had his finger tip cut off by a pram hinge. Photo: Dallas Kilponen

Although only the second case of its kind reported in Australia, at least 17 children in the US have had their fingers cut off in Maclaren strollers, prompting the manufacturer to recall its high-end prams there in 2009, and again in mid-2011.

Maclaren strollers weren't recalled in Australia, but the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission posted notices about the defect on its Product Safety Recall website. Local Maclaren distributor CNP Brands ran an advertising campaign alerting customers and retailers to the safety risk and the free hinge covers available.

The ACCC said it was now ''re-examining'' this awareness campaign after Cael's accident. All Maclaren strollers made after May 2010 have a different hinge that eliminates the risk of injury.

Mrs Barton said that when she paid more than $500 for her stroller in May 2011 she had no idea it was manufactured in 2009, nor was she advised of any safety defects or offered the hinge covers.

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''If I'd known then what I know now, I wouldn't have let my son within a metre of the pram,'' the Maroubra mother said. ''I never knew it could guillotine his finger off.''

Mrs Barton hopes that by going public, other parents will be alerted to the safety risks of the Maclaren strollers. ''I don't want this to happen to anyone else again. Everyone has got those prams.''

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Mrs Barton's husband was putting the stroller up last Saturday when an excited Cael jumped on the front of the pram and his pinky finger got caught in the folding hinge. ''He just screamed,'' Mrs Barton recalled. ''When his finger came loose .. . the blood was gushing out and I saw a complete part of his finger was gone.''

Mrs Barton said it was preventable and Maclaren should ''feel ashamed for what they've done''. ''They're just lucky it hasn't happened here in Australia before.''

In a statement to Fairfax Media, CNP Brands said there was "no risk of injury" to a child seated in a pre-2010 model Maclaren pram or "when folding or unfolding the stroller following the instructions". "Consumers should take the same level of caution and care as when opening or closing a car door or any other moving part that can be found in many other baby and toddler products," CNP said, claiming all the reported injuries to children occurred when "the instructions were not properly followed".

The owner of Kensington shop BabyThings where Mrs Barton bought her stroller, Barbara Kaler, said all their Maclaren prams had been checked by a CNP representative when the safety hazard was first identified in 2009. She said she didn't know how Mrs Barton came to be sold a pre-2010 pram.

CNP said it was surprised such an old-model stroller like Mrs Barton's was still on a shop floor, but acknowledged many parents would still be using pre-2010 Maclaren strollers.

Owners of these prams can request a free hinge cover kit at maclarenbaby.com.au or by phoning 1300 667 137.